


Thunder and Lightning

by Xhaira



Series: Of the Sunless Sea [10]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23019286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xhaira/pseuds/Xhaira
Summary: Xhaira worries over a secret he's kept from his newfound mate.
Relationships: Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)/Original Character(s)
Series: Of the Sunless Sea [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549966
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	Thunder and Lightning

**Author's Note:**

> Some more early relationship lore \o/
> 
> Thanks for reading!

The first signs of a coming storm caused Xhaira to worry at his bottom lip with his teeth as he prepared for bed. He’d been living with Aurion for about two weeks now, and had slept over a few times before moving in when they stayed up too late for him to walk back to the barracks. But all of those nights had been clear skies, no signs of stormy weather plaguing the time they spent together. 

But now, as he watched the drizzling rain begin to fall, and could hear the light roar of the thunder beginning to roll, Xhaira nervously considered running back to his family home before the worst of the storm hit. It was so silly — he was an adult! He shouldn’t be frightened by the prospect of thunder and lightning; Aurion would think him childish if he found out about his ridiculous fear. 

“Ah.” Xhaira nearly jumped, too focused on his worries to notice his mate entering the bedroom. “It looks like the storm is beginning. I’m sure it’ll last all night, with those clouds.” Aurion stopped next to Xhaira, a small frown forming on his lips. “Everything alright, sugar?”

Xhaira couldn’t help but smile with the use of the pet name he’d been given. “Y-yeah. I’m alright. Just tired, I guess.” Aurion gave him a look, obviously not convinced but not willing to push the subject. Instead, he nodded and gestured towards the bed. “Well then, let’s get you to sleep. We’ve no obligations tomorrow morning so you can sleep in late if you’d like.”

Xhaira nodded, leaning in to kiss his mate on the cheek before sliding between the sheets. He turned to his left side and watched as Aurion got in and turned out the lamp — putting the window and the strengthening storm at his back. If he couldn’t see the lightning, at least he wouldn’t startle at it. He would just do his best to ignore the thunder. 

As the room went dark, Xhaira wondered how long it would take him to get to sleep. If only he could-

Xhaira startled as he felt a hand in his hair. He hadn’t even realized that Aurion had scooted closer to him. The Keeper waited a moment, but when Xhaira showed no signs of pulling away, he began to run his fingers through his mate’s hair. “This feel okay, sugar?” Xhaira made a noise of content and moved his head slightly, giving Aurion more space to reach the back of his head. He continued his gentle and soothing scalp massage, occasionally moving down to Xhaira’s neck and shoulders to help him relax. It was a surprisingly short amount of time later that Aurion could hear the gentle snores of his mate, and he drifted off to sleep with a small smile on his face.

* * *

The violent crack of lightning lit the sky several hours later, bringing Xhaira into consciousness with a quickly silenced whimper of fear. His heart thumped against his chest, his body quivered as he fought not to make any noise and wake Aurion. They’d both moved during the night, and his mate seemed so much farther than usual. Xhaira folded his ears back, warring with himself. He desperately wanted to curl up next to his mate for comfort, but he knew that it would wake him. And he was afraid of Aurion’s reaction to learning that his mate was so afraid of weather that occurred over the island fairly frequently. Maybe he’d just go sit in another room instead. 

Before he could carefully slip out of the bed, another whip of lighting blasted through the sky, followed by a roar of thunder that made his bones shake. Xhaira didn’t even remember moving his body to the other side of the bed, but he curled up at Aurion’s back, hiding his face between his shoulder blades. Aurion startled awake. 

“Xhaira!? What’s wrong?” He attempted to turn around but Xhaira held fast to his position. “What’s going on, sugar?”

Xhaira seemed to attempt to sink further into Aurion’s back. “S-sorry…”

Aurion reaches behind him, placing a comforting hand on top of Xhaira’s head. A few moments went by before he said anything, understanding dawning on him. “You scared of the storm, sugar?” He was met with silence, but he could practically smell the shame and embarrassment coming from the Seeker. Aurion massaged into Xhaira’s scalp the way he did before, but then stopped and forced Xhaira to move back enough so that he could turn over. “Look at me, Xhaira.” 

Xhaira swallowed and tried to blink away the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes. He looked up at Aurion and expected a negative reaction, or a talk about how he should get over his baseless fears. But Aurion’s expression was unbelievably gentle — Xhaira wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him like this before. A calloused hand cupped his cheek, and Xhaira leaned into the touch. 

“You’re alright. I’m here.” Aurion leaned in to kiss him, and Xhaira felt so much relief at the lack of judgement. But then Aurion was getting out of the bed. “Come over to my side; at least then you’re not near the window.” Xhaira moved over, but when Aurion didn’t immediately take his place he looked at him with confusion. “Auri?”

Aurion walked over to the window and pulled the shutters closed. Xhaira hadn’t wanted to bother asking about closing them because then it would raise questions since they always slept with them open, but he sighed with relief as the sight of the storm was locked away. Xhaira turned on his left side and settled in as Aurion walked back to the bed and took up his place in Xhaira’s normal spot. And when he spooned behind Xhaira a moment later, placing a comforting arm across his waist and kissing his temple with a soft goodnight, Xhaira smiled and closed his eyes. 

And when more thunder jerked him awake later, Aurion was right there to calm him and help him get back to sleep. The comfort of a loving and understanding mate was more than enough to defeat the thunder and lighting. 

Stormy nights were a lot easier to handle after that night. 

**Author's Note:**

> Over the years, Xhaira doesn't necessarily get over his fears but he learns to manage them better. So if he gets stuck out in a storm (or has to fight a being that's known for throwing lightning) he'll be terrified, but you can't always tell.


End file.
